


Promises and Secrets

by ab2fsycho



Series: Hold My Tea and Watch This [24]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Again, M/M, i need to stop, shit's about to get real
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-25
Updated: 2013-07-25
Packaged: 2017-12-21 07:53:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/897806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ab2fsycho/pseuds/ab2fsycho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pitch has to do something he really doesn't want to do in order to defeat the new enemy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promises and Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> This took longer than expected. Sorry guys.

Jack woke with a start, trembling slightly from the dream he’d had: another memory from that attack. The pressure on his waist didn’t help. It felt like he was being held down again, and he’d forgotten that he’d fallen asleep somewhere not in the Nightmare King’s lair. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he remembered where he was, he realized it was only Pitch. He was actually sleeping, his head on Jack’s chest with his long arms wrapped around the Guardian’s waist. Jack breathed a sigh of relief as the trembling subsided, then found himself staring at Pitch’s sleeping form. He couldn’t recall if he’d actually seen Pitch sleep before. Usually it was Pitch watching Jack sleep. This was the most relaxed Jack had seen Pitch since leaving him alone in his lair. Jack felt his chest tighten at the thought.

He ran a tentative hand through Pitch’s hair. He almost laughed when his Boogeyman hummed his approval while still asleep and tightened his arms around Jack. His smile widened when he thought he heard Pitch mouth, “Mine.”

He was surprised at how easy it was to simply sit still and watch his partner sleep. He would’ve thought he’d be bored, by now. Instead, he kept finding new things to study. Pitch’s hair wasn’t completely black, for one. There were grayish hairs intermingling as well. Pitch breathed steadily through his nose rather than his mouth. As he slept, the lines in his forehead became less obvious. He actually looked younger. His body heat also increased while asleep, so Jack’s legs and waist were sweating from the contact. He didn’t mind though. Pitch’s warmth was one of the many things he enjoyed. Being cold all the time had its benefits, and one of them happened to be an appreciation for warmer temperatures. So long as he wasn’t boiling, at least.

His thoughts were interrupted by a humming in the back of his head and a tingling on his forearm. “You should make out with him right now,” Rin whispered.

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Ruin a moment, why don’t you?”

“Hey, I’m just giving you some options.”

“I don’t want your options.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Who are you mouthing off at?” Pitch muttered, eyes still closed and voice soft.

“Rin. He’s misbehaving,” Jack offered.

“Am not! Tell him what I said! He’d like it coming from you.”

“No!” Jack uttered through gritted teeth. Then he redirected his focus on Pitch. “So you’re a light sleeper?”

“Considering how little I sleep, that shouldn’t be so surprising.”

“I would actually expect you to go in hibernation with how little you sleep.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have time to hibernate.”

Jack chuckled. “Point taken.” His smile widened as Pitch buried his face deeper into Jack’s chest, holding him tighter still. “You’re clingy when you’re tired.”

“Are you complaining?”

“No. I actually like it.” He could’ve sworn Pitch smiled at that. They were interrupted by a static noise, like someone was adjusting a radio, making Pitch grumble. “I’ll go check it out,” the Guardian said. Pitch grumbled some more before reluctantly releasing Jack from his iron grip. Jack picked up his staff and left Pitch to continue resting in the dark.

Walking through Bunny’s Warren, Jack headed for the source of the noise. As he approached Jamie and Sophie, he discovered that it was in fact a pocket radio. When had that gotten there?

“Can’t find a channel,” Jamie complained.

“You’re underground. Can’t exactly get any frequencies down here,” Jack offered. “Weren’t you supposed to be helping Bunny?”

“Sophie and I may or may not have ruined a batch of his eggs,” the kid offered. Jack wanted to laugh, but knew the kangaroo might come flying out of nowhere and shout him into the ground. “So he sent us over here instead. Told us we could stay until the other Guardians got here.”

“Well, give it here. Let me throw it a few times.” Jack picked up the radio. With the staff in hand, he called upon a breeze to lift him to the highest part of the Warren. He hoped the higher he got, the better signal he would get. His suspicions proved right. The static began to dissipate and he could actually hear music. “Radio’s working!”

“Awesome!” Jamie called up to him. Sandy appeared by the kids and offered them a ride up to the ledge where Jack was adjusting the station. When they got there, Jamie reached for it. “Hey hey! I fixed it, therefore I choose what station.”

“That’s not fair!” Sophie argued.

“How is that not fair? That’s perfectly fair,” Jack laughed as he argued. Sophie’s fake pout only made him chuckle more.

He surfed the stations for a bit, Jamie and Sophie giving him input every now and again on what songs they liked that they heard. It wasn’t until he found a classic rock station that he stopped. “What is this?” Jamie asked.

“Only gold! This stuff is the best,” Jack said. Without thinking, he actually got up and started dancing. 

“How are you dancing to this?” Jamie asked. A question mark appeared over Sandy’s head also.

“How are you not? Don’t make me snowball you kids.” He continued moving to the music, singing alongside Bob Seger. He surprised himself with how well he knew the lyrics.

Jamie laughed as Sophie squealed and joined Jack. The Guardian was proud to say that the girl had more rhythm than he did. Jamie was equally talented, the kids making Jack look like an offbeat bird of paradise trying to get attention. He was fine with that. As long as they were having fun. Out of the corner of his eye, he even caught Sandy nodding his head in time with the music.

From what the other Guardians made it seem like, he was about to go to war. It suddenly struck Jack that this might be the last time he did his job as the Guardian of Fun. 



Pitch snuck out of the shadows to watch the group. His side felt almost normal again, the short rest having aided him more than he had expected. Having Jack as a pillow may have also helped. He’d practically slept on top of an ice cube. Moving around in the shadows, he managed to locate Jack again. To his surprise, he found the winter spirit dancing with the believer and the girl who’d assaulted Pitch earlier. Even Sanderson was somewhat moving to the rather odd beat. Pitch couldn’t recall having caught up to that century of music, and so didn’t recognize the tune.

He stopped thinking about the odd combination of string and percussion when his gaze honed in on Jack, though. This was definitely something he’d never seen the young Guardian do. He’d seen (and made) Jack move in the most beautiful ways, but seeing him dance was an experience he had not thought to witness. Granted, his rhythm was off by several beats, but Pitch liked seeing the boy move. He wouldn’t go so far as to say that Jack Frost had grace, because he certainly didn’t. However, he could say with absolute certainty that he liked seeing this side of the Guardian of Fun.

Unfortunately for the believer and his sister, Pitch wasn’t much for sharing. But he would let Jack have this moment with them anyway. Losing control of his tongue, he said, “I should get you to dance more often.”

Jack turned around and saw Pitch lingering in the shadows, leaning against a mossy surface with his arms folded. Pitch smiled at the boy blushing and grinning sheepishly at him. He continued smiling until the little girl caught sight of him. Again, she stared at him for a few moments before roaring and charging again. This time, Pitch didn’t back down. “Sophie, wait!” Jack and Jamie said in unison. Before the child could run into Pitch, which he’d prepared himself for, Jack had scooped her up off the ground.

“Is it Pitch?” Jamie whispered to Jack. Convenient. The boy still couldn’t see him. That didn’t seem to affect his sister’s want to charge at the Boogeyman.

“Yeah, but he’s just standing there,” Jack reassured. Somehow, Pitch found it adorable that Jack still had to reassure the believer that had ruined his carefully laid plans. Of course, Jack had been ruining his carefully laid plans for quite some time now, and he felt no desire to stop him. “Does she do this with everything she’s scared of?”

“Yeah, but we’re operating under the impression that most of the things she’s scared of are just as scared of her,” the believer uttered. The boy’s sentence structure was interesting. Pitch wouldn’t be surprised if he got top marks in English classes.

“You might wanna break her of chasing after the Boogeyman. I can assure you he won’t do anything to her, but she should be careful all the same.”

“Ah, the Nightmare King has a believer!” a familiar voice resounded from below. Glancing down, they saw North and Tooth approaching. 

Pitch could almost feel the dread coming off of Jack, who turned to the two children and said, “Time to go, guys.”

“Will Mom get better if you beat the dragon?” the believer asked. His fear was understandable, and Pitch couldn’t help but take pleasure in the feel of it. He would likely feel guilty later considering this was one of Jack’s believers, but for now he savored the taste.

“I hope so, kid,” Jack answered, worry finally showing on his face and in his tone.

The Cossack opened a portal to the human world using one of his snow globes. When the children were gone, Pitch and the Guardians gathered to discuss what the Man in the Moon might have said.

“We are needing help with this one,” North stated.

“He hasn’t chosen another Guardian, has he? I’m barely used to the new one,” the rabbit grumbled. Jack merely rolled his eyes this time.

“No, but we have met her before,” the twit interjected. Her, Pitch thought. A small amount of dread accumulated within him.

“We need to find Mother Nature,” the Cossack spoke, giving voice to the words Pitch had so desperately hoped not to hear. “She entombed Pillan and can likely do it again.”

“What’s stopping us from finding her?” Jack asked. Pitch gave him a petulant look, but the boy was oblivious. Just stop asking questions, Pitch thought. He couldn’t even begin to describe how terribly he did not want to be part of this anymore.

“Man in Moon says Pitch knows where she is,” the Cossack said. Of course the Man in the Moon said that. It seemed he lived to undermine Pitch’s hopes of keeping his promises.

“You do?” Jack asked, confused. Pitch looked down, remaining quiet.

“Pitch, we need your help in this,” the twit added softly. She was the last person he wanted to speak to.

“No,” Pitch said through gritted teeth. Only when he felt an inkling of fear surge through the fairy did he look up at all. “I won’t lead you to her.”

“She may be our only hope in this, you daft,” the rabbit retorted.

“Bunny, no,” Jack grumbled before turning to Pitch. “Pitch, what’s wrong? Why can’t you show us where she is?” Pitch couldn’t look at Jack. He couldn’t explain to the winter spirit what was going through his head. Not in front of the others. Not like this. He clenched his fists, looking down again as he took a step back.

“It’s not that he can’t. He just won’t,” the rabbit snapped.

“She will not receive us willingly. She’s been in hiding all these years. If she’d wanted us to know her whereabouts, then she—,” Pitch attempted an explanation.

The twit interrupted gently, “But you know exactly where she is. Doesn’t that mean she wanted you to—.”

“No! I am the last person she wants to—.”

“But you know where she is—.”

“And I won’t tell you how to find—.”

“Pitch, the world may depend on this information—.”

“I will hunt down Pillan myself before I lead any of you to her!” Pitch shouted. They finally silenced then.

The pause was short-lived, however. “Why do I feel like everybody knows something I don’t again?” Jack asked, breaking the quiet.

Pitch’s rage quelled as the Guardians stared at the youngest member of their troupe. A moment of panic went through him as he realized what they might divulge. But they didn’t. The twit simply said, “That’s between you and Pitch.”

Jack looked at him, almost like he was expecting Pitch to grow two heads at the moment. Oddly, Pitch felt that he just might. For once, he couldn’t bring himself to speak to Jack. He had to look away from the boy. Was this shame? Embarrassment? Guilt? He wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, it only made Jack’s piercing blue gaze a source of discomfort for him. “Pitch, what is going on?” Pitch wasn’t ready to explain this to Jack.

“Past dealings or no, we need Mother Nature on our side,” the rabbit said. “She’s more powerful and definitely older than the majority of us. If Pillan’s plague spirits can cause this much turmoil, we are going to need her help dealing with Pillan himself.”

“This is the only way. Manny said—.”

“Let me be clear. I don’t care what the Man in the Moon said. All I care about is putting down the menace who almost killed us,” Pitch growled, gesturing to himself and Jack. He did look at Jack then. Jack still looked confused, and Pitch could feel just the slightest sense of suspicion rising in the boy. The bitterness of the boy’s fear slipped into the sensation as well. Pitch closed his eyes, knowing full well that he was going to regret this. “For that reason alone will I take you to her.”

The relief in the elder Guardians’ gazes was muted by the impending doom Pitch felt. When the Cossack started leading them to the tunnels, Pitch and Jack hesitated. Jack asked quietly, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Pitch sighed heavily, an abnormal amount of anxiety encasing him as he kept his eyes down. “I’m not ready to talk about it,” he whispered almost inaudibly. He was almost afraid Jack hadn’t heard him.

Afraid. Jack somehow made him very afraid. It may be the one thing other that guardianship that Pitch held against the boy.

“I . . . ,” the boy sighed. Pitch closed his eyes against the Guardian’s confusion. “I want to know, but if you can’t tell me now . . . I’ll wait.”

Pitch felt Jack’s hand slip into his, and the sensation forced Pitch to relax. Though he took comfort in Jack’s patience, he knew the boy wouldn’t have to wait very long. Soon, he would have his answers, whether Pitch was ready to speak or not.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to feel bad for the drama I'm about to cause . . . but I just can't. I can't feel sorry. Time to slide into Phase Four.
> 
> Any questions? Ask le characters on twofacedpsycho.tumblr.com. You can also talk to my muse and myself. We're still taking prompts.


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